This invention relates to hose and cable clamps and the like, and in particular to a new and improved clamp which is flexible so as to permit change in clamp circumference with temperature cycling and the like without damage to the item being clamped or the clamp itself.
A wide variety of hose and cable clamps are presently available and typically comprise a strip formed into a band with some means for joining the ends of the strip and obtaining adjustment of the circumference of the band.
One prior art band is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,713,998 wherein the strip itself is corrugated to provide flexibility. Alternative forms of strip corrugations are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,475,793 and 3,523,337. Clamps with a resilient section, typically a spring at the junction of the ends of the strip, are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,819,768; 2,659,954; 2,730,612; 2,897,569; and the previously mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,475,793 and 3,523,337. Another form of resilient construction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,834 wherein the entire band is made of a stretchable material. One non-resilient form of clamp or tie is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,133.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved flexible clamp which will have a substantially continuous tension with expansion and contraction of the item being clamped, and at the same time which will provide a continuous band about the item, both features being desirable for reducing the likelihood of leaking past the clamp.
It is a particular object of the invention to provide a new and improved flexible clamp suitable for clamping plastic protective boots over telephone cable splices which are subjected to extremes of ambient temperature to maintain a leak-tight clamp without damage to the plastic boot.
It is another object to provide such a flexible clamp having a portion with parallel sections with one or more sections corrugated to provide the resilient characteristic and with another section non-corrugated and of a variable length to provide the continuous band characteristic.
Other objects, advantages, features and results will more fully appear in the course of the following description.